Amiga Music Preservation -

Interview

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`qb ,dP'

TLb. ,dMP' all rite, now you get the chance to read

TML.dMMP some facts about some of the major amiga

,nmm`XXMPX musicians. read about their history in

,#MP'~~XNXYNXTb. the scene and their plans in future.yes,

,d~' dNNP `YNTb. that's meant to be read while listening to

,~ ,NN' `YNb their modules. read 'em over and over and over..

dNP `Yb.

,NN' `b. · i n t e r v i e w · ___________

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| _| | | _l_ | | \ / _l_ | ___|

l___/=l___|====l____/===\______|==l______|\ /l___/===\______l____/

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Handle:

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Group:

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Date of birth:

1-How did your interest for computers start? Which year was that?

My father is a bit of a geek and he bought a TRS-80 back in the early
80s when I was _very_ young.

2-What machines did you previously have? What did you do with them?

I played games and did some BASIC. Then we got an Apple IIe, and I did the same.
Then came a PC, and then in 1990 we got an Amiga A500.

3-For what specific reason did you end up making music rather than gfx, coding?

I got my first amiga mag with coverdisk in 91, it had a sample editor on it.
The later that year I got another mag with Noisetracker on it and I started
mucking around with it. I got hooked. Next I got Octamed. I can't remember when
I saw my first demo, but it was around this time (1991). I thought the whole
thing was cool, and there was that mystic of the 'cracker' scene and making
stuff that would reach a world-wide audience. I never had the patience for
programming (properly), and didn't know where to start learning. I didn't have
the aptitude for gfx.

4-Which composing programs have you been using? Which one in particular?

I have used Noisetracker, Protracker and other various versions, and versions
of Audiomaster for sampling (I got a sampler in 92). After that I stuck with
versions octamed until about 96-97, when I stopped doing computer music. More
recently, I have used acid on the PC and octamed on the PC and another PC
tracker (forgot the name) :(.

5-With which module did you feel you had reached your goal?

I don't think I ever reached my goal :). I started doing a lot of stuff with
midi and octamed. I never release any of this, but it was much more interesting
to me. I also had a bunch of incomplete mods which were pretty cool. I think
that the best true scene stuff I did was "Bloody X" and "Fly on the Bass".

6-Is there a tune you would like not to remember? For what reason?

Most of my early stuff. I did a lot of 'experimenting' that is hard to listen
to now.

7-In your opinion, what's the value of a music in a demo, game?

Music is vital in a demo or game. It really sets the scene and gives it feel.
Music can make or break a game/demo. Most of the musicless games are boring to
me, and demos without sound are 'incomplete'. Even 40k intros need music.

8-At present, are you still composing? For professional or leisure purposes?

At the moment I don't do much composing. When I do it strickly for my pleasure.
I have the idea of doing more in the future

9-What do you think of today's pieces of music such as mpeg,wave,midi,etc...?

I think that the radical improvements have changed things alot. Once, the
challenge was getting something that sound 'real' into a few 100k and 4channels.
With MP3 you can do whatever you want. I think there are some interesting
things with interactivity and computed compositions. But whenever I hear a
chiptune or something in demo, intro, cracktro or whatever, or see new mods on
Aminet, something new from the last few months, I am glad to think that the art
is still alive.

10-Could you tell us some of your all times favourite tunes?

Too many to mention. I like 4mat's chiptunes, and Allyster Brimbles stuff.
And U4ia, especially his whole love/hate relationship with the scene.
And C64 stuff.

11-Are you planning to make an audio cd with some of your music remastered?

One day, but I will have to add more stuff, and finish off some projects :)

12-What bands are you currently listenning to?

As always, my tastes are diverse. I have been listening to the Amelie
soundtrack, Top40, Kraftwerk, 80s stuff, King Missile...

13-What does/did the amiga/c64 scene give you?

I still think that the scene was incredibly cool, even sexy. There is this whole
mystique of the underground, of 0-days, of disk mags and a world where everyone
had a handle and group. I think that it gives you a lot of hope in humanity,
because people were doing it for fun and friendship. It was about creativity,
from people you didn't always expect to be creative: computer geeks.

14-Are you still active in the scene these days?

No, I released a small intro - minimalism - a few years ago with a friend as
Addicts. That was the last thing I did. I have lost touch with the scene but
I am still in contact with the Amiga community.

15-Anyone to greet? Anything left to say? Feel free...

Greets to Mad Dawg, Psyko, Doctor, Image, Interregator, Cyborg... and all those
who have come across John Mainas.

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please note: this interview is ©opyrighted in 2003 by crown of cryptoburners
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